Celebrities have their say, but why listen?

October 3, 2012

Two pro football players are getting plenty of attention off the field this week after they went public about their stance on the marriage amendment that will be coming up for a vote in Minnesota in November.

Former Viking and current Baltimore Ravens center Matt Birk (a Minnesota native) is against gay marriage and wrote an op-ed that recently ran in the Star Tribune as a means to voice his opinion. Vikings punter Chris Kluwe is a proponent of gay marriage and responded to Birk's piece in a blog, saying Birk isn't being logical. It should be noted that besides being employed by the Vikings, Kluwe has no Minnesota ties. We applaud these very public figures for putting their views out there on one of the most volatile topics this state has ever seen, but we implore our readers, the voters, to not let the opinions of a couple of athletes sway their decision.

We doubt their views, as well thought out and presented as they might be, will make a difference anyway. On a topic as personal as gay marriage, we believe you have already made up your own minds. We're not talking about candidates here, or political parties, we're talking about a social issue, and no statement from a pro athlete, no yard sign, or no TV commercial, is powerful enough to change what lies in people's hearts.

In the end, your vote comes down to your beliefs - do you believe gay men and women should be allowed to legally marry in the state of Minnesota?

Celebrity endorsements are a dime a dozen these days, and some get way more attention than they deserve, but the voting public can not and should not let a person's celebrity, their rock-star status, blind them to their true beliefs. We put athletes and entertainers on a pretty high pedestal for what they do on the field or on the stage, but that doesn't mean we should lend so much validity to their opinions that it will drown out our own.